STOCKS HIT ALL-TIME HIGHS: Here's what you need to know

The S&P 500 climbed to an intra-day high for a second straight day. The Nasdaq closed at a record high after several tech giants rose on earnings results.

First, the scoreboard:

Dow: 18,082, +25, (+0.2%)

S&P 500: 2,117.85, +4.9, (+0.2%)

Nasdaq: 5,091, +35, (+0.7%)

And now, the top stories on Friday:

Three of the largest US tech companies saw huge stock advances in trading after reporting earnings on Thursday. Amazon shares surged by more than 15%, Microsoft jumped by more than 10%, and Google rallied by more than 3%. All three companies rallied after earnings, though Google’s report did come in short of expectations. Apple and Alibaba report quarterly results on Monday.

Charter Communications may want to buy Time Warner Cable. The news via Bloomberg came a few hours after Comcast announced that it abandoned a $US45 billion deal with TWC. Charter Communications advisors are reportedly preparing a potential bid for TWC, whose shares jumped more than 5% in late-afternoon trading on the report.

Gold got smoked, falling by more than 1% (about $US16 an ounce) to as low as $US11.74.40, a one-month trough.

Biogen shares tanked because even though quarter profits surged 71%, earnings and revenues came in below expectations. The stock fell by over 6% to as low as $US395 per share on Friday. The company also said sales of its major oral multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera slowed, and its revenues fell 10% quarter-over-quarter. Piper Jaffray lowered its price target to $US485 from $US500, writing in a note that the stock “has a long way to go before it can be considered a top pick again.”

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